Building Blocks Day Nursery Anderton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this exceptionally well resourced, welcoming and homely nursery. They arrive eager to engage in activities and excitedly seek out their friends to share experiences with. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They display extremely high levels of well-being and engagement. Older children concentrate intently as they practise problem-solving in the water area. They persevere, building on the skills that they have previously learned to enable them to complete the task with little adult direction. For example, in the outdoor water area, the children independently find the way to fill up the water tray by connecting the water tube to the tap and turning it on.

Children are very kind and considerate towards each other and the friendly staff. Children learn how to share & negotiate. For example, two children who want to play with the same resource are heard negotiating calmly over 'how to make it fair'. Children work together as a team and demonstrate extremely high levels of imagination. Older children skilfully link blocks together to create an ambulance. They then dress up as emergency workers and engage in role play. Staff offer an abundance of praise and celebrate their efforts and achievements. This successfully helps to build children's self-esteem, as they demonstrate that they feel highly valued.

Children develop high levels of independence. Toddlers help to serve lunch with beaming smiles, saying the name of their friend as they serve their plate to them. Older children self-select and return resources without adult support. Demonstrating a well-embedded understanding of the rules of the nursery. Children feel safe and know they are well cared for in the nursery. Babies enjoy the warmth and comfort of the staff's observant and gentle approach. They form strong bonds with staff, which helps to establish positive social skills.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The manager and the special educational needs coordinator effectively liaise with a range of external agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They quickly identify children who need additional support and plan meticulously to implement the advice of professionals to close any gaps in learning.
• The experienced and well-qualified manager provides exceptionally clear and passionate leadership. She is strongly supported by the senior staff. Senior staff are buddied up with other members of the team, which swiftly raises the professional development of the staff team and ensures the delivery of an effective curriculum. Staff communicate that they are extremely happy and feel well supported in their well-being and professional development.
• Staff positively promote children's communication skills. Staff are excellent role models to children with their clear, engaging speech, skilfully aimed at extending children's vocabulary. Children use a wealth of vocabulary in their play, such as 'volcano' and 'lava'. Toddlers delight in developing a sense of the rhythm of speech when, for example, they sing nursery rhymes and songs with confidence. As a result, children make remarkably fast progress to become confident talkers. Staff actively encourage children to share their views and hold engaging, in-depth conversations with older children. They take part in a 'children's committee' to contribute their views and ideas. Staff then plan opportunities based on their ideas, for example a 'rainbow week'. As a result, children feel valued and respected.
• Children are encouraged to develop a love of reading. High-quality children's books, rhymes and stories are at the heart of many activities, and are available in the parent library. Staff carefully plan for children's developing mark-making skills and early writing skills. Chairs are taken away to promote the importance of core strength and active learning. Children regularly make marks with pleasure during their play. Staff model writing at every opportunity. This writing is then displayed around the room and children refer to it in their play. For example, they read the recipe for making play dough as they independently make it.
• Parents thoroughly recommend the nursery. The nursery creates family books for each child to inform staff of the important people in children's lives. Parents comment on how well they feel their child is known and cared for as an individual. They feel they are being kept up to date with their children's progress and next steps in learning. They give examples of how the nursery staff go over and above to support families. For example, supporting children & their families with the bereavement of a relative. The nursery provides parents with an array of useful information. Topics include online safety, toilet training and dummies.